Son of ex-Benin president arrested amid fallout from failed coup
Relatives say Chabi Yayi was detained at his home in the early hours of Sunday, though authorities have not disclosed the grounds for his arrest.
The son of former Beninese president and opposition leader Thomas Boni Yayi has been arrested, a week after a failed coup attempt rocked the West African nation.
Relatives say Chabi Yayi was detained at his home in the early hours of Sunday, though authorities have not disclosed the grounds for his arrest.
Benin has been on edge since a 7 December coup attempt, which the former president publicly condemned in a video address two days later.
In the days since, security forces have launched a series of arrests targeting alleged participants and sympathisers. Those detained include former defence minister and prominent opposition figure Candide Azannai, who has been placed in police custody on charges of “conspiracy against the authority of the State” and “incitement to rebellion”.
Authorities say several others suspected of involvement remain at large, among them the alleged ringleader, Lieutenant Colonel Pascal Tigri.
The government has also moved against high-profile pan-African activist Kemi Seba, issuing an international arrest warrant for “inciting rebellion” over his vocal support for the coup attempt, which he hailed as Benin’s “day of liberation”.
In a seven-minute online video responding to the warrant, Seba said he had taken precautions but did not reveal his current location.
Seba – full name Stellio Gilles Robert Capo Chichi, 44 – heads the NGO Pan-Africanist Emergency and is known for his fierce criticism of France and African governments aligned with Paris.
Formerly Franco-Beninese, he was stripped of his French nationality in 2024 and now travels on a passport issued by the military regime in Niger, a neighbour of Benin and one of several Sahel states now led by juntas hostile to France and aligned with Russia.
With around 1.5 million followers on social media, Seba is part of a growing ecosystem of pan-African online influencers whose messaging has gained traction among younger audiences.
Benin’s authorities say the recent measures are aimed at protecting state stability and preventing further unrest, while critics argue they risk deepening political tensions and shrinking space for dissent.
For now, relatives of Chabi Yayi say they are still in the dark about the precise allegations against him, as the country continues to grapple with the political and security fallout of the failed coup.
